How to write a book, get published and keep ALL the profits…

[Pages:116]How to write a book, get published and keep ALL the profits...

Richard McMunn

Orders: Please contact How2become Ltd, Suite 3, 50 Churchill Square Business Centre, Kings Hill, Kent ME19 4YU. You can also order via the e mail address info@how2become.co.uk.

ISBN: 978-1-910202-05-0

First published in 2014 by How2Become Ltd

Copyright ? 2014 Richard McMunn. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. Apart from any permitted use under UK copyright law no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information, storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further details of such licenses (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

Typeset for How2become Ltd by Anton Pshinka.

Printed in Great Britain for How2become Ltd by Bell & Bain Ltd, 303 Burnfield Road, Thornliebank, Glasgow G46 7UQ.

CONTENT

Welcome........................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 1 ? No previous experience required............................................7 CHAPTER 2 ? My top 10 tips for writing and publishing success............... 14 CHAPTER 3 ? Researching ideas for book subjects...................................28 CHAPTER 4 ? How to write your book and create an action plan (including the 11-hour publishing system).....................................................43 CHAPTER 5 ? Book cover designs and book titles.....................................60 CHAPTER 6 ? Books for business owners..................................................77 CHAPTER 7 ? About Amazon......................................................................82 CHAPTER 8 ? How to sell your books on Amazon......................................87 CHAPTER 9 ? Selling through multiple channels....................................... 112 CHAPTER 10 ? Kindle and EBooks............................................................ 122 CHAPTER 11 ? How to protect your copyright and intellectual property..... 137 CHAPTER 12 ? Using outsourcers............................................................. 144 CHAPTER 13 ? Registering your business................................................. 158 CHAPTER 14 - Financial management and organisation...........................165 CHAPTER 15 - Using the internet in your book publishing business...........184 CHAPTER 16 - Alternative ways to market and promote your book............ 211 CHAPTER 17 ? Useful links and resources................................................225

"You need no qualifications or prior experience to write and self-publish a book. All you need is an idea, hard work, determination and a willingness to learn..."

"Write a book that oozes quality. When writing your book focus on the reader and how it will benefit them. Do not focus on how much money the book will make for you..."

"When writing your book think about the different opportunities to upsell..."

Richard McMunn Award-winning entrepreneur and best-selling author

WELCOME

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How to write a book, get published and keep ALL the profits

Dear author,

It gives me tremendous pleasure to bring you this book, which is a collaboration of many years' hard work, determination and a willingness to learn.

As you read the book you will notice that in order to write and self-publish your book you need no prior experience of the publishing world. What you do need is a willingness to learn and a mentor (someone who will help you). In order to make the book interesting and inspiring I have written it from the heart. I will share with you my successes along with the many lessons I have learnt along the way.

I must stress that the methods I am going to teach you within the book are not the only way to get your book finished and published ? they are simply the methods that I have tried and tested and the ones that have worked for me. You will also notice in the book that I urge you not to go out and get a book publishing deal with a major or independent publisher. The reason for this is simply because I believe the effort it takes to get a book publishing deal can be better channelled into doing it yourself. In essence, if you follow the steps and guidance I have provided within this book you will be able do it yourself. In many cases you will probably do a better job than some of the major publishers that are out there.

Finally, after reading my book if you would like me to coach you on a oneto-one basis to get your book published, please contact me via the following website:



Good luck and best wishes,

Richard McMunn

CHAPTER 1 NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

REQUIRED

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8

How to write a book, get published and keep ALL the profits

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Most of you who read this book will probably have no idea who I am or the journey I have taken so far. Therefore, in this chapter I would like to take a few minutes of your time to explain what I have done and where I have come from. This opening chapter is designed to inspire you to write your first book and to instil the belief that absolutely ANYTHING is possible.

To cut a long story short, I grew up in Lancashire and attended Balshaw's High School in Leyland, where I graduated with the princely sum of just 3 GCSE's. For all my effort, or probably lack of it, I achieved a B grade in Art, a C Grade in English Language and a C Grade in English Literature ? not much use to anyone if we are being honest! Because of my lack of qualifications I decided to join the Royal Navy as an aircraft engineer. I served on-board HMS Invincible and got to travel the world whilst getting paid a decent amount in the process. However, it wasn't all plain sailing though (excuse the pun), as I did actually fail the initial Royal Navy medical for being overweight, and as a result my application was rejected until I had `slimmed down' a little!

I can actually vividly remember attending the Royal Navy medical in Preston, Lancashire. I sat in the doctor's surgery waiting room and was confident that I would pass. I entered the room and was asked to undress. After a few minor checks and the inevitable `cough and drop' I was told to stand on the weighing scales. This was the first time I'd ever stood on weighing scales in my life. As soon as I took that life-changing step onto the weighing scales I could hear cogs struggling under the weight of my torso; I sensed disaster approaching. I looked down cautiously at the scales, only to see the needle fixed firmly on the fifteen stone mark. There I was, a sixteen year old teenager weighing almost as much as my age. All of the meat and potato pies I had eaten in my youth suddenly flashed before my eyes. I was officially too fat to join the Royal Navy!

I stood back off the scales and started to get dressed. I had the same feeling you get when you are halfway through your driving test and you carry out a manoeuvre that you know only too well has caused you to fail. In the corner of my eye I could see the doctor writing down a brief assessment on his marking sheet with his spectacles balancing precariously on the edge of his nose ? he didn't look impressed.

Within five minutes I was walking out of the surgery feeling extremely dejected. He had informed me that I needed to lose a stone in weight before they would permit me to start the training course. On the way out of the

Chapter 1: No previous experience required

9

surgery he had also handed me a small sheet of paper which detailed what I should and should not eat if I was to be successful in transforming myself from a fat spotty teenager to the kind of young man the Royal Navy would permit through its doors.

Whilst I sat at the bus stop waiting for the bus to take me home I started to study the diet sheet the doctor had handed me. Even my pet rabbit could not survive on this crap, I thought to myself! The sheet of paper consisted of the following recommended meal:

Breakfast - scrambled eggs on two slices of toast with one cup of tea.

Mid-morning snack ? one apple

Lunch ? one jacket potato with small portion of beans

Afternoon snack ? one banana

Evening meal ? one small portion of chicken breast, half a cup of boiled rice and vegetables

Evening snack ? one wholemeal biscuit and a small glass of milk

(Note ? drink one pint of water twenty minutes before each meal)

Now for most people, this would seem to be a decent daily intake of food; however, it was probably half of what I would normally eat, which explains why I was overweight.

The reason I am talking about this now is that I have learnt throughout my life that if I apply discipline and structure to my work I WILL be successful. Discipline is the root cause of my success. If you are disciplined and determined when writing and publishing your book you will be successful. Here's what happened next.

As the bus approached to take me home from the medical I made a decision. This decision proved to be the catalyst that changed not only my approach to fitness but also my entire attitude to life. I decided there and then that I would walk home instead of getting the bus. As I walked home I promised myself that I would walk to college every day and then back home again. As I began walking briskly my heart beat increased and I began to feel more positive and enthusiastic about the future. It only took me 4 weeks to lose the weight required, and it was from that point on that I realised that if I applied myself and worked hard, success would follow.

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How to write a book, get published and keep ALL the profits

The Royal Navy was a fantastic experience for me as it gave me responsibility, a trade, a sense of purpose and, most importantly, discipline. I will talk about discipline as I progress through this guide, as it is something you are going to have to take notice of when you start to write and publish your first book. Basically, from the age of 16 I was `required' to conduct myself in a disciplined manner, and this is something that I carried over into my next career as a firefighter and then as an author ? discipline is one of the main reasons for my success, and it will also be one of yours, too.

After serving just 4 years in the Royal Navy I decided to follow in the footsteps of my father Tony and join the Fire Service. At the age of 21 I applied to join Kent Fire Brigade, and on January the 25th 1993 I started a job that would turn out to be a successful 17-year career in the Fire Service. Whilst in the Fire Service I worked hard, sat my promotional exams, and soon found opportunities came my way. One of the very first mentors I had in life was a man called Mick Brooker ? he was my officer-in-charge whilst serving as a firefighter at Maidstone Fire Station, and he would often give me `opportunities' to develop and grow as an individual. He would insist that I gave weekly lectures and presentations to the rest of the Watch at the Fire Station on subjects that focused on firefighter operational procedures. Although I didn't realise it at the time, all of this experience was setting me up to become one of the UK's most successful authors.

After a couple of years working under Mick at Maidstone Fire Station I managed to secure a temporary promotion at the Training Centre. Mick had been impressed at the standard of my presentations and decided to put me forward for a Leading Firefighter Instructors position at the County Training Centre. I loved every minute of this job, and I actually ended up spending 4 years in this post teaching people how to join the Fire Service and running my own firefighter recruit training courses. Once again, although I didn't realise it at the time my future as an author and publisher was starting to take shape.

HOW DOES ALL THIS AFFECT YOU?

Many of you will be reading this and wondering what the heck it has got to do with being an author and publisher. Well, apart from the discipline required to become a successful author you also need to have an idea for the book that you intend writing. Most of us have lots of experience in life which we can tap into and use when researching ideas for writing books. Whether it's by way of our qualifications, our career, hobbies and interests, or our passions, we all have something to write about. During the next chapter I will go into

Chapter 1: No previous experience required

11

researching ideas for book subjects in more detail, but basically my first book idea focused on what I was good at, and that was teaching people how to get a job in the Fire Service.

After leaving the Training Centre I then started to rise through the ranks of the Fire Service, and I eventually ended up in charge of a District under the title of Assistant Divisional Officer. My salary at the time was in excess of ?55,000, per year and I was also handed a new company car every 3 years and one of the best pension's available. Despite all of this, I was unhappy. Having spoken to many aspiring authors over the years, many of them often tell me about their frustrations in their job and how they do not find it fulfilling ? I felt exactly the same when working in the Fire Service. Although it was a secure career and very well paid I did not enjoy the last 5 years or so of my career, simply because it wasn't creative enough for me. As an author you will undoubtedly have a need and desire to be creative ? it is what drives us forward and is also what keeps us happy as individuals. I did not realise I had this need until I started to write my first book.

Since that day when I sat down in my cellar to write my first book, I have gone on to author and publish over 150 books, many of which have become best-sellers. More importantly, I have been very happy in my work as an author and publisher, and I have absolutely no regrets about leaving the Fire Service. Like I said, my first book idea came from a niche I spotted whilst working in the Fire Service, and as I explain how this unfolded I want you to also think about the different experiences you have had in life so far and how they might be used in order to write your first book.

As I progressed through my career in the Fire Service many people used to approach me and ask me for advice on how to get a job as a firefighter. I would often invite them around to my house for an hour or so and set about teaching them how to prepare for the firefighter selection process, usually in exchange for a crate of my favourite beer! More often than not, those people that I taught would pass the selection process and end up getting a career as a firefighter.

As time went on I can remember thinking to myself that there must be way for me to turn this level of expertise I had into a business. I started to carry out some research on the internet to see what information was available to help people to join the Fire Service. After a few minutes of research I found the level of information to be limited, and this was my opportunity to change my life and create a successful business out of my expertise. For some reason I

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How to write a book, get published and keep ALL the profits

decided to call my publishing business `how2become', and I sat down to write my first book in the cellar of my house on my old crappy Hewlett Packard computer. Despite having no previous `writing' experience, I was determined to be successful.

My first guide took me approximately 3 months to complete, and I started selling it via my website . I attended an internet business start-up course with my good friend Simon Coulson to learn how to set up a website and direct traffic to it. After a few months' hard work and perseverance I started to sell my guide to customers throughout the UK. Although things were slow to begin with, it wasn't long before I was selling 30 copies every day of the week! As you can imagine, this was a very exciting time for me as I could sense there was large gap in the market that needed to be filled ? and it was my intention to fill it as fast as I could.

My first guide on getting into the Fire Service was selling so well that I was filling up three post boxes every day. At this point I was still working in the Fire Service, and I often found myself working until 3am writing, researching and packing the orders which were being received via my website. At this point in time I hadn't even considered Amazon as an option for selling my guide. I sat down and constructed a business plan, and then decided that my next book would need to be on getting a job in the Royal Navy. After all, I had experience of passing the selection process so it made perfect sense to write a book on this subject, as I knew there was demand.

After completing my second book (How to join the Royal Navy) I realised that I had now run out of ideas, yet I still had this burning desire to grow my publishing business and increase the number of books in my `how2become' range. I had identified, through carrying out key research which I will disclose in the next chapter, that there was huge demand for information on getting careers such as train driver, prison officer, cabin crew and probation officer. I figured that the only way I could get the `insider' information I needed to write my books was to actually go through the selection process myself ? and that's exactly what I did!

I sat down in my cellar and began filling out application forms for all of these jobs. When I received a letter inviting me along to the assessment centre, I would prepare thoroughly for it. After passing the assessment centre I would then attend the interview and do my utmost to pass it. At the end of the interview I would return to my car and immediately write down all of the questions I was asked, so that I could use these within the books I was writing.

Chapter 1: No previous experience required

13

More often than not I would be offered the job. However, if I was unsuccessful, I would write off and seek feedback on my performance which again would help me to write great content for my books. This would allow me to use the information received from the employer to help other people perform better when they attended the assessment centre or interview. Although I did not realise it at the time, I was slowly becoming an `expert' at passing job selection processes, whilst at the same time adding to my list of interview questions, sample tests and insider knowledge on how to get specialist careers.

During the years that followed I carried on writing my books and growing my publishing business, using the same formula time and time again. It is that exact same formula that I will teach you within this book, and I feel very confident you are going to find it a very useful tool in your writing and publishing armoury.

The information I have just provided you with is a very brief snapshot of how I fell into writing and publishing, and the steps I have taken to gain sufficient knowledge to write my books. It is designed to give you the confidence that despite not having any prior writing or publishing experience you can become a best-selling author, publish your own book(s), and keep all of the profits in the process. During the next few chapters I will go into detail about the processes I use to write and publish my books.

CHAPTER 2 MY TOP 10 TIPS FOR WRITING

AND PUBLISHING SUCCESS

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Chapter 2: My top 10 tips for writing and publishing success

15

MY TOP 10 TIPS FOR WRITING AND PUBLISHING SUCCESS

Within this chapter of the book I have decided to list a number of insider tips and advice that will help you to achieve success when both writing and publishing books. These tips have helped me to continually achieve success in my publishing business, and I would like to share them with you. Although some of them may appear to be common-sense, please take the time to read them and implement them during your writing and publishing strategy.

TIP 1 ? DO NOT GET A BOOK PUBLISHING DEAL UNLESS YOU ARE THE NEXT JK ROWLING

Perhaps the main reason you are reading this book is because you are serious about publishing your own book yourself. This is great news! I can safely say that I am qualified to advise you here, simply because I have actually had a book publishing deal myself before I started self-publishing. In fact, I had a six book publishing deal. One of the main reasons why I got myself the publishing deals was to learn the entire book publishing process myself. Of course, I did not disclose this to the publisher at the time, but it was my intention to learn the whole book publishing process so that I could do it myself and keep all of the profits in the process.

I can remember sitting in the plush London offices of the publishing company that I was trying to get a publishing contract with. They were very professional and explained the entire process to me in detail. After reading my manuscripts they informed me that they would need to get approval from their company Director before the six draft publishing contracts would be sent over to me for consideration. At this point it was also explained to me the royalty rate I would receive from each book sold. After some tough negotiations I managed to get myself 15% of net profits per book that was sold. To put it in simple terms, this effectively meant I would get approximately 30-50 pence for every book that was sold. Now, call me ungrateful, but this did not sound fair at all. I was expected to write the content (60,000 words per book), and in exchange I would receive a royalty of just 15% of net profits for printed book sales. On the train home I considered the offer carefully and managed to persuade myself that the contracts were worth more to me than the royalty rate simply because I would get to learn the entire publishing process, which would eventually mean that I could do it myself. And that's exactly what I did.

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